Home Alone
by underage
Summary: Who knew so much could happen in one week? Suddenly Manny's bulemic, J.T.'s confessing unrequited love, old relationships are being reconciled, and babysitting has become a full-time job. Thank God, Spike and Snake are gone for Spring Break.
1. Uninvited Guests

A/N: Wow, it's been so long since I wrote for but it feels so good to be back! This is my first attempt at a Degrassi fic but I just had to try because I love that show with all my heart. I really hope Jimmy's going to be okay and what's with Teri? There's been no updates. Well anyway, enjoy. Review, but don't flame; constructive criticism, however, is welcome.

Warning: The rating may change.

Chapter One: Uninvited Guests

**"Rumor has it, you're going to be alone for Spring Break"**

"Are you sure you're going to be able to handle it, because we could stay...we could..."

I smiled, taking the cordless from my mother. This was going to be harder than I thought. "Mom, I'm sure. It's only going to be for Spring Break; exactly one week. I can handle it." I bent over and grabbed the suitcase by her feet. If only I could get them out faster. "You're taking this one, too, right?"

Mom nodded. "Um, yeah." She looked over at Dad nervously who smiled at me before carrying the camcorder equipment out. He and Joey had bet on how long it'd take before she actually felt secure leaving. He'd said an hour but Joey was convinced she needed thirty more minutes to think and rethink about leaving us home alone. Only so far he didn't have to worry, she was probably worrying enough for the both of them.

Even though I'm seventeen now she can still be a little overprotective sometimes.

I heard him chuckle to himself. Honestly, she didn't have anything to be worried about. I'm responsible, I'm a great baby-sitter, and if things happen to get a little rough I have good friends to help.

"Dad, can you please tell her everything's going to be okay?" I followed him outside to the car and handed him the suitcase. "I'm seventeen for crying outloud, why is she so worried? Nothing's going to happen."

"I know, but you know your mom. She's 'Safety Woman'."

"I am not." Mom handed him the last bag. "I just want to be sure..."

"Yes, yes, YES! Please, just get in the car." I opened the passenger seat and made a sweeping motion with my hand. "I mean, honestly, what's the worst that could happen? I can cook so I'm not going to accidently set the kitchen on fire, I know not to talk to strangers, and I'm not going to let Jack out of my sight long enough for him to get in trouble. Just go." Leaning over to seal my argument I and kissed Mom on the cheek and helped her into the car. "I love you."

She sat back in her seat and looked at me, giving me that look. The 'I guess I'll surrender but don't think you've won' look. I closed the door so she could roll down the window. "I love you, too, Emma. Be safe."

I nodded as Dad gave me a hug. "And if you just happen to set the kitchen on fire remember to stop, drop, and roll."

"Archie!"

He kissed the top of my head. "I'm kidding! Please be careful so we can prove to your mother that she has nothing to worry about."

I smiled and watched him get into the car. "Okay. Have fun." I waited until they pulled out of the driveway to wave. "Bring me back a souvenier!"

Mom waved back reluctantly, her hand looking so sad compared to Dad's which waved back excitedly. The car pulled off and I walked back into the house. _Finally_, I thought. _A whole week alone_, with the exception of Jack's presence. A whole week to kick back and relax, unsupervised with no rules. A whole week to... I looked around the empty living room, at the couch and loveseat, the coffee table, the T.V., the stereo. If I were any other teenager this would be great. A whole week to party, to make out on both the couch and the loveseat, to have tons of half empty beer cans scattered on the coffee table, to play rental movies on the T.V. during a sleepover, and blast The Ramones on the stereo. But I wasn't any other teenager and the more I actually thought about it, it wasn't great. It was a whole week to stuff myself with Ho-Ho-Ho's and watch reruns of that old cancelled soap opera Mom likes so much. A whole week to bore myself and Jack, to think and rethink about the stupidest things a person could ever think of. Like what life would be like if Rick was still alive.

_That was a year ago_, and yet I still thought about it every night as if everything had happened yesterday. I sighed. _I gotta forget that, forget him, forget everything and anything that has to do with that, I gotta... _ But I couldn't. No matter how much I told myself, chided myself, it was still too real.

_And Sean..._ I looked down at the cordless. We haven't talked in over a month. Last time he had sounded happy... _I guess_. He'd sounded different. I still wasn't so sure if him staying in Waseiga was for the best. For him, or Ellie, or...me. After we'd left him there I just couldn't help wondering, couldn't stop asking myself: what if? We could've had something great, greater than him and Ellie, definitely greater than me and Chris. He was my first love.

_But things have changed. Feelings have changed._ No matter what, we could only be friends now.

"Emwa?" I looked down at the sound of a baby voice straight into Jack's big puppy dog eyes. He was starting to look more and more like Dad, with just his eyes to remind us of Mom. "Me hungwe."

I smiled. Okay, so maybe life wasn't as depressing as I was making it out to be. I mean, on the other hand, there was still Jack, and he could be so fun to be around, to teach new things to, and just look at it. Kids really do say the darnedest things. "Oh, really?" I picked him up and sat him on the counter. In the cabinets there were stacks upon stacks of baby food: chicken and peas, carrots, and mashed potatoes. Mom had made sure to stock up for the week so I wouldn't have to burden myself with grocery shopping.

Jack pointed to the carrots.

"Ew. But if that's what you want..." Even though I'm a health freak I still can't understand his love for carrots. Tomatoes, maybe...even eggplants, just not carrots. I twisted off the lid and watched him open his mouth, prepared. "Open wider." Because he never opened wide enough.

He waited patiently as I spooned a good proportion and made an airplane motion towards his mouth.

"Yummy." Anything that was good was yummy. I remember I'd promised to dedicate some of my free week to broadening his vocabulary.

I was three spoonfuls into it before the phone rang. "Hello?"

A voice boomed back at me. "Emma, what's up?"

I smirked, and held the phone between my ear and left shoulder, continuing to feed Jack. "Hey, J.T."

He cut right to the chase. "Rumor has it, you're going to be alone for Spring Break."

It figured that, that would be a reason for him to call me. "Rumor, huh? Let me guess: Manuela Santos."

His voice smiled as he said, "Her mouth really isn't as big as you think it is."

But she wasn't the only blabber mouth. "Liberty told you?"

"Girls' night, without adult supervision...she was just waiting for an opportunity to let loose."

"J.T..."

"But honestly, why wasn't I invited? No one can get looser than me."

I smiled. "You want to know why honestly?"

"Yes, I honestly do."

"Because there isn't going to be a girls' night. I promised no more than one person at a time."

He laughed. "That's why you, Emma Nelson, shouldn't make promises you can't keep."

I laughed back. Bursting his bubble really was a rewarding experience. "That's where you're wrong, James Tiberius Yorke. It's a promise I will dedicate my _life_ to keep, so don't get any ideas." I scraped up the last spoonful and fed it to Jack before wiping his mouth and setting him on the floor.

"You mean, like this one?"

I was about to prepare to wash dishes when the doorbell rang. "What are you talking about?" But deep down inside I already knew, because bursting my bubble was an even more rewarding experience for J.T. Pulling the phone away from my ear I glanced in the direction of the living room. The doorbell rang again. _Oh God..._ Slowly, I set down the spoon and walked to the door. I was prepared to find J.T. on the other side.

"Surprise!"

Just not J.T., Toby, Manny, Liberty, and, "William?" I barely even knew him.

"Hey, Em. We came to keep you company during Spring Break." Manny kissed me on the cheek but I didn't feel it, nor did I see them as they began to enter the house. My mind wasn't ready to process what was happening.

_Oh my God... _

Because I couldn't just kick them out.


	2. Task 1 Grocery Shopping

A/N: In case some of you are wondering, yes I changed the summary. It was originally:_ 1 year has passed since Rick died Spike and Snake are gone for Spring Break. What kind of trouble will Emma and the gang get into, especially if J.T.'s involved? Pairings: J.T.Manny, some EmmaSean, some J.T.Liberty_, but now that I've planned out the story I came up with a better summary. It has still been 1 year since Rick's death and as you will see it will play a big part in the story. Thank you so much for the reviews!

Chapter Two: Task 1- Grocery Shopping

**"They were planning to stay"**

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Is it true that you never stop eating?"

William looked down at the bag of chips he was almost done consuming and smirked. "I'll have you know, these are fat free and even if they weren't I still have a fast metabolism, so don't worry about my eating habits."

I folded my arms over my chest and smirked back. "How can I not? You're eating up all my food!"

"I am not. I brought these from my house."

I rolled my eyes. "Just because I might let you guys stay, doesn't mean this is your house. I saw you take those from the bottom cabinet."

He smiled, glancing around nervously. "Do you have cameras in here or something?"

Manny rolled her eyes too, leaning over to smack him on the back of the head. She reached into her pocket and pulled out some change. "I would offer more, but I didn't know William ate so much."

"You mean, we're gonna pay you to eat your food?"

J.T. perked up. "Hey, that's not fair!"

Toby stopped dozing off and sat up, suddenly aware of our conversation. "Pay for food? Why?"

I glared at William accusingly. "Because _somebody _is a pig."

He pointed to himself. "Are you talking about me, because I already told you I have a fast metabolism."

"I wouldn't make you pay to eat at my house. This isn't a Bed and Breakfast, you know."

I looked at J.T. "Are you sure about that? I didn't exactly invite you guys over."

He stood up defensively. "Fine! Let's go you guys."

Toby and William started to gather their stuff. I wasn't surprised. Toby's been following J.T. around for the longest, even after that whole thing with Rick, it was only a matter of time before things went back to the way they were. And William was just an idiot. Nothing he did could ever surprise me.

I almost thought I was in the clear when they started heading for the door but then Liberty jumped in. "Hey, wait. I've got an idea." Because she always had an idea. "Let's all chip in to buy more food. I have a little bit of cash and I know you have some Toby." She glanced at J.T. "And you're always buying stuff so why not buy something that you actually need." Her eyes fell on William next. "Or don't need. Just because you have a fast metabolism doesn't mean anything. One of these days all that fat is going to catch up to you and you're not even going to realize it was your careless eating habits that caused it. Besides, if you don't have anything to bring to the party don't come."

"Yeah," I added, gloating. Liberty could be wrong sometimes, but this time she was so right. She didn't have to take my side, any other time when J.T.'s opinion was involved she didn't. Maybe she was finally starting to get over him. Why she would even like him in the first place was a mystery.

"How do you know I have money? Just because I have a job doesn't mean I'm rich now."

We all looked at Toby. Even if he was an Academy Award winning actor we still wouldn't have believed him. He wasn't the type of person to get his paycheck and just go berserk. He always had to save something, especially since he was trying to buy a car this summer.

He shrugged. "Okay, so maybe I do have some money, it still doesn't mean you have to assume."

Manny grabbed her purse and threw he change inside. "Whatever. Let's just make a list so we can get it out of the way."

I was almost ready to get a pen and piece of paper before I realized what this meant. They were planning to stay. _Well, I guess it won't be all that bad. They can help babysit and_ destroy my house, because J.T.'s going to want to party and William's clumsy little hands look ready to accidently break something. _But Liberty can keep them in check. She can keep anybody in check_, except me because this was my house. _And if she ever forgot I know Manny would stick up for me because we're cool like that_.

Or were we? There were still things I couldn't tell her and I knew she was hiding something from me. I'd been watching her closely and if I didn't know any better I'd think she was possibly pregnant. _But she's careful_, I mean she's not like one of those stupid girls who would do it without a condom. If she was even sexually active. She never really told me if she was or wasn't.

_Either way she's still _way_ ahead of you_. I was trying to wait until marriage, or until I found someone special. _Sean was special_. But he's also Ellie's.

I sighed and stood up from my spot on the couch. Everyone was looking at me. "What?" Was there something on my face?

"Um, where you daydreaming or something? I asked you if you had a pen."

"Oh," I looked around, "Yeah." I was seriously going to have to stop doing that.

Liberty found a notepad under the coffee table and flipped to a clean page. I gave her one of Jack's crayons. "Okay. Chips..."

"Fat free," William added. A reason for him to open his fat mouth.

"Do you have cereal?"

I shrugged. "Just Fruit Loops. They're Jack's favorite."

"I like Frosted Flakes..."

"Fruity Pebbles..."

"Cocoa Puffs..."

And since everyone was getting what they wanted, I added, "Cheerios."

"Hey, isn't cereal expensive?" Toby was such a cheapskate.

Manny ignored him. "Add bananas too. I can't eat cereal without them."

By the time we were done we came up with: chips, cereal, bananas, lemonade, paper towels, wheat bread, napoleon ice cream, and Swiss cheese. William just _had_ to have cheese on his sandwiches and it _had_ to be Swiss. One of these days I was gonna _have_ to smack him.

"So," Manny looked at me, "Who's going to go?"

"Let's all go!" J.T. suggested.

"None of us have a car," I stated.

"I have a bike," Toby offered.

I rolled my eyes. "Let me restate that. None of us transportation that's going to get us all there."

William looked away. "All contrare..."

"What do you mean?"

He smiled. "Didn't J.T. tell you guys? I got a car yesterday!"

That figures. Someone so dumb and irresponsible could have a car, but not someone mature and reliable like me. Now I knew the world was coming to an end.

I reached down and grabbed Jack. "Just drive safely. I don't have the carseat."

"Let's race."

William was sitting in a shopping cart that J.T. was pushing. Toby pulled up beside him with a shopping cart of his own.

"Emma hop in."

"No. Geez, I can't take you guys anywhere."

Toby smiled. "Just get in. Liberty you're own J.T.'s team."

"I don't want to be on their team!"

Manny grabbed my arm and held on tight. "Don't look at me."

William watched her. "That's messed up."

"Sorry, but Emma's a really good competitor."

"As if it matters." I detached myself from Manny. "I'm not racing."

"Why not?"

"Actually the question is _why_?" I couldn't believe Liberty was willing to go along with this. Was I the only civilized one?

"Come on." Manny grinned trying to coax me. "It'll be fun." She ran her fingers along my neck, tickling me.

"Fine," I said, giving up. "But if we win, you're team has to cough up the money to pay."

"And vice versa," J.T. said, as if he was positive they were going to win.

I climbed inside.

"Let the race begin!" Liberty shouted.

And we were off.

I can honestly say that I was having fun...

Until I spotted Ellie.

With Sean.


End file.
